Senate Report Indicates Unauthorized CIA Interrogations

A Senate report has concluded that following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the CIA used torture techniques on detainees that went beyond the agency's legal authority and the limits authorized by the Justice Department.

According to Aljazeera America, citing Senate staffers and one U.S. official familiar with the report, a Senate Intelligence Committee probe has concluded that at least one high-value detainee was subjected to torture techniques that went beyond those authorized by the Justice Department.

The report, which is still classified, also indicates that harsh measures that were ultimately authorized by the Department of Justice had been applied to at least one detainee before the legal authorization was obtained.

The sources also said the findings show that the CIA knowingly misled the White House, Congress, and the Justice Department about the intelligence value of Zain Abidin Mohammed Husain Abu Zubaydah when using his case to argue for harsher interrogation techniques, Aljazeera reported.

The agency is seeking assurances that the report will not lead to criminal investigations, according to Aljazeera.

The Intelligence Committee probe, led by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, began in 2009 after allegations were made that detainees had been tortured while being held by the CIA.

A 120-page response from the CIA says there are flaws in the report, but those details also remain classified.

Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, made an impassioned speech on the Senate floor last week accusing the CIA of secretly removing documents and searching computers used by the committee to suppress potentially incriminating evidence of the agency's wrongdoing.

President Barack Obama last week expressed support for the public release of the report "so that the American people can understand what happened in the past … That can help guide us as we move forward," Aljazeera reported.

A Senate report has concluded that following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the CIA used torture techniques on detainees that went beyond the agency's legal authority and the limits authorized by the Justice Department.